The present invention relates generally to barcode scanners, and, more specifically, to video displays cooperating therewith.
In a typical retail store, such as a grocery supermarket, a point of sale (POS) terminal permits a clerk to tally products being purchased by a customer. A typical POS terminal includes a barcode scanner along which the individual products are swiped for reading or scanning corresponding barcodes thereon.
Barcodes have various configurations, with the typical barcode found in retail establishments being a one-dimensional barcode configured in the Universal Product Code (UPC) format. In this format, a series of alternating dark bars and white spaces of varying width are used to encode desired information, such as the identity of the product for which the price thereof may be obtained from a corresponding price database.
A typical barcode scanner includes a laser for emitting a continuous red laser beam which is reflected off a rotating spinner and against several pattern mirrors that produce different scan lines which typically intersect in a pattern for increasing the likelihood of a successful barcode scan.
In operation, the product containing the barcode is swiped across a window of the scanner so that at least one of the scan lines may traverse the bars and spaces of the barcode in turn. Light is absorbed by the dark bars and reflected from the white spaces in a return path back into the barcode scanner in which a photodiode light detector detects the reflected light which is then suitably decoded. Since the barcode may be presented in front of the scanner window at various orientations, the scan pattern is configured to improve a successful read irrespective of the barcode orientation.
However, the number of scan lines in the resulting pattern is limited by the number of mirror facets on the spinner and the number of cooperating pattern mirrors. In practice, therefore, the barcode may have to be repeatedly presented to the scanner for ensuring a successful read and decoding thereof.
The decoded barcode signal is then used in a price lookup database for obtaining the corresponding price of the associated product which is then displayed on a printed receipt, or in a video display screen prior to receipt printing. In this way, individual products are identified by their barcodes and tallied in a list for determining the total amount of the transaction, which may then be completed.
Typical barcode scanners have limited capability, and are separate from the video displays. This increases system complexity and corresponding cost.
Accordingly, it is desired to provide an improved barcode scanner, which may be additionally integrated with a video display screen for reducing cost and complexity.
A display scanner includes an optical panel having a plurality of stacked optical waveguides. The waveguides define an inlet face at one end and a screen at an opposite end, with each waveguide having a core laminated between cladding. A projector projects a scan beam of light into the panel inlet face for transmission from the screen as a scan line to scan a barcode. A light sensor at the inlet face detects a return beam reflected from the barcode into the screen. A decoder decodes the return beam detected by the sensor for reading the barcode. In an exemplary embodiment, the optical panel also displays a visual image thereon.